(BFM Stock Exchange) – The digital service company recorded growth of 0.7% at constant exchange rates in the second quarter, after a decline of 0.4% over the previous three months. The company has tightened its forecast range for 2025.

Like many of its competitors, Capgemini has been sailing for sight since the start of the year. Its sector, that of digital services, is closely linked to IT expenses, themselves dependent on macroeconomics.

The uncertainties linked to customs duties or the vigor of the American economy obviously did not help.

A sign of this lack of visibility, Capgemini had been forced to give, at the beginning of the year, an unusually wide range for its growth objective in 2025. The company provided for an evolution of its turnover between a decrease of 2% excluding exchange effects and an increase of 2% on these same bases.

UBS wrote, in a recent note, that comments from Capgemini management on visibility for the second semester “would be key”.

On the occasion of the publication of its half -yearly results, this Wednesday, July 30, the digital service company was able to give some reassuring signals in this direction.

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Tightened forecast

“While we are starting the third quarter, we see a certain stability in the environment and remain cautious given the uncertainty linked to geopolitical tensions and an economy in slow motion,” said the director general of the Aiman Ezzat group, quoted in a press release. “In this context and strong of the resilience of our performance in the first semester, we tighten our growth goal,” he announced.

Capgemini now estimates that the variation in its income excluding exchange effects will be between a drop of 1% and an increase of 1%, therefore against a previous interval between -2% and +2%.

Aiman Ezzat told analysts that Capgemini awaited a contribution to growth around 1 percentage point. This means that growth in comparable data from the group is expected between -2% and 0% for 2025.

The other 2025 objectives of the company were confirmed, namely operating margin between 13.3% and 13.5%, and a generation of so -called “organic” cash of around 1.9 billion euros.

Questioned by analysts on trends for the second half, Aiman Ezzat said that the third quarter should be similar to the second. “Afterwards, everything will depend on the environment for the fourth quarter,” he added. The director general added that the company was careful for the time being because, if a certain stability is observed at present, “the changes can be very brutal”.

Growth better than expected in the second quarter

Capgemini delivered these perspectives after seeing its dynamics improve in the second quarter.

Over the period from April to the end of June, Capgemini recorded an increase in its revenues of 0.7% excluding exchange effects, after having seen its income fall by 0.4% on these same bases in the first three months of the year.

The company has significantly exceeded expectations. According to Oddo BHF, consensus (the average forecast of analysts) anticipated a 0.3% drop in revenues in comparable data.

The company has notably benefited from the good dynamics of the “financial services and” telecoms media and technologies “segments, which display a growth of 5.5% excluding exchange effects. Conversely, the manufacturing industries remain tough (-4% in the quarter).

In regions, North America has borne the entire group with an increase in its income of 2.4% excluding exchange effects.

Throughout the first half of the first half, Capgemini’s revenues have reached 11.1 billion euros, up 0.2% at exchange rate.

The operating margin fell 0.5% over one year to 1.38 billion euros. Net profit also fell 13% to 724 million euros.

The organic free cash flow also reached 60 million euros against 163 million euros in the first half of 2024.

Invest Securities notes that these results are higher than expectations, especially in terms of income and operating margin.

“This is an honorable publication of Capgemini, with growth in turnover in the second upper quarter of 1 point (of percentage, editor’s note) to forecasts and a benefit per adjusted action of 8% to forecasts,” writes Oddo BHF in a note.

On the Paris Stock Exchange, investors appreciate the announcements delivered by the company. Around 9:40 am, the Capgemini action took 2.8% and signed the third highest increase in CAC 40.

Recall that Capgemini recently announced a major acquisition project, with the acquisition of WNS, for an amount of 3.3 billion euros out of debt. This transforming operation must allow the company to position itself in so-called “agentic” artificial intelligence, that is to say the AI systems designed to act independently, make decisions and achieve specific objectives.

This type of AI is enhanced in so-called “BPO” IT activities (“Business Process Outsourcing”), that is to say the outsourcing of business processes, such as payroll management or accounting processing.